Front Page  news  metro

Monday, November 05, 2007

Overflow Crowd Urges UNM Not to Break Up North Golf Course for Retirement Community Development

By Martin Salazar/
Journal Staff Writer
      They showed up in droves, with just one message for the University of New Mexico: Hands off the North Golf Course.
    Hundreds of area residents and others opposed to development on the university-owned golf course held a rally Sunday afternoon, then attended a town hall meeting with UNM President David Schmidly at the law school.
    More than 300 people crammed into a lecture hall to hear from Schmidly, spilling out the doorway, sitting on the floor and standing. Others listened to Schmidly’s attempts to reach common ground from a nearby room.
    “My goal is for UNM to act responsibly, with transparency, and as a good neighbor,” Schmidly told the overflow crowd. “And, for the record, I don’t think your interests — as our neighbors — are mutually inconsistent with those of the taxpayers, those of our alumni, students and our tuition-paying parents.”
    The events were spurred by UNM’s desire to build a retirement community on its North Golf Course, which is bordered on three sides by the University of New Mexico Hospital, the UNM Law School and the Domenici Center. The university is looking to raise money for academic facilities, like a $12.5 million classroom modernization project.
    Schmidly unveiled a new conceptual plan that he said would greatly reduce the footprint of the proposed development on the 80-acre golf course. The initial plan would have consumed about half of it, essentially reducing it to a much smaller nine-hole golf course. The plan unveiled Sunday would preserve more of the course, providing nine holes at a variety of distances. Schmidly said the latest concept would even contain a par 5 hole and three par 4 holes.
    Schmidly also invited community members to form an advisory committee to help guide the project.
    “The new plan that was shown is an improvement,” said City Councilor Isaac Benton. But he said he was still concerned.
    “I believe the golf course should be preserved in its present nine-hole configuration,” Benton later added. He said the city is prepared to take over management of the course to preserve the open space if the university no longer wants to do it.
    Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who lives near the golf course, questioned whether developing it was truly the best use of the property. She also told UNM officials that the process has created a breach of trust.
    “For every person you see here, there are hundreds more,” Denish said of the crowd, which mostly opposed it.
    Roberto Ortega, past president of the UNM Alumni Association, told Schmidly that preservation of the golf course was a citywide issue. He suggested the university look at other property it owns for the project.
    “The association has never endorsed this site for the development, and I don’t think it will,” he said. “To use a site that can’t be replaced … it just defies logic.”
    Plans for the retirement community are in the early stages. The university has said it’s in discussions with one development team but has signed no contracts.
    While an early plan released by UNM showed about half of the 80 acres being taken up by the retirement community, Schmidly has said he has been assured that the project can be done on 25 to 30 acres.
    The university, he said, wants to preserve as much of the golf course and open space as possible but has a fiduciary responsibility to use its property wisely.
    The retirement facility — referred to by the university as a continuing life-care community — would have cottages, independent living apartments and assisted living facilities geared toward meeting the needs of the elderly as they age. It would be marketed to retired UNM faculty and alumni, though others would also be welcome.
    University officials have said it would include improved walking and jogging trails and amenities like wellness and workout centers that would be open to area residents.
    Jamie Koch, regents president, has said UNM would enter into a long-term lease with a developer, generating steady revenue for UNM. Early estimates indicate the project could yield about $2.1 million annually.
    The course currently brings in a modest profit of about $20,000 to $25,000 a year, Schmidly has said.
    The university has said that the money generated by the retirement community would provide a revenue stream to pay off bonds used to fund construction of academic facilities. It plans to issue about $160 million in revenue bonds to finance a number of capital projects. Most would generate revenue to pay for themselves, but about $29 million worth are to be paid with money from commercial development, such as the retirement center.
    At Sunday’s rally, many people held homemade signs, like one that read “UNM don’t pave paradise.”
    Mia Alexander, Mia Carlson and Grace Kienzle, all 10, held up a sign that read “Kids need Green Space.” The three said they use the golf course for recreational purposes such as walking and running and don’t want to see it go away.
    Several elected officials, including Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, spoke at the rally.
    “How idiotic would it be to take a beautiful green course” and develop it, he asked.
    Sara Koplik, president of the North Campus Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood had been tolerant of UNM building on the course in the past.
    “Today, we draw the line here,” she said.